Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-11-30
MisGellaueuns &eading.
FACTS ABOUT THE SEA.

The sea is the reservoir into which run
all the rivers of the world. It is the cistern
which catches all the rain that falls, not on
ly upon its own surface, but upon the sur
face of the land and the roofs ofour homes.
All this water is removed again by evapo-
ration as fast as it is supplied. 1t is estl-
mated that every year a layer of the entire
sea fourteen feet thick is taken up into the
clouds. This vapor is fresh, and If all the
water could be removed in the same way
and none of it returned it is calculated that
there would be left a layer of pure salt 23O
feet thick on the bed of the Atlantic.
This is upon the supposition that three
feet depth of water contains one inch depth
of salt, and that the average depth OF the
ocean is three miles.
At a depth of about $500 feet the tenn
perature is uniform, varying but a trlte
between the poles and the equator. n
colder water is below. 1t is reported that
in many deep bays on the coast OF Norway
the water often begins to freeze at the bot
tom before it does at the surface.
At this depth the waves are not felt.
Waves do not travel-that is, the water
does not move forward, although it seems
to do 80 it stays in the same place. The
rising and falling moves on. .
We measure waves by their height n
by the distance from crest to crest In deep
water this latter distance is about fifteen
times the height of the wayes In shall
low water the proportion is less, and this
makes a choppy sea.
The force of the waves is in proportion
to their height. 1t is said that the sea
strikes on Bell rock with the force of sew
enteen tons to each square yard.
The pressure of the water ceases as we 60
down. At the depth of a mile this pres
sure is reckoned at more than a ton to the
square inch-that is, more than l33.times
the pressure of the atmosphere.
To get correct sounding in deep water IS
difficult. A shot weighing thirty pounds
carries down the line. Through this sink
er a hole is bored, and through the hole
is placed a rod of iron which moves easily
back and forth. In the end of the bar a
cup is dug out, and the inside is coated
with lard. The bar is made fast to the
line and a sling holds the shot on.
When the bar, which extends below the
shot, touches the bottom, the sling un-
hooks and the shot slides off. The cup IN
the end of the bar holds some of the SAND,
or whatever may be on the bottom, and a
cover shuts over the cup to keep the water
from washing the sand out. In this way
we learn the character of the deep sea bot
tom.
It will be seen at once that we can know
the depressions of the bottom of the ocean
more easily and more accurately than we
can learn the elevation of the land. AS a
consequence we have a better t~opograph-
ical map of much of that surface than we
have of the continents.
The depth of the sea presents some in
teresting considerations. If the Atlantic
were lowered 6, 1854 feetit would be reduced
to half its present width. If it were low
cred a little more than three miles there
would be dry land all the way between
Newfoundland and Ireland. If the Med
~iteranean we're lowered $50 feet, Africa
would be joined to Italy and three sepa-
rate seas would remain.